Following a demographic profile of Sri Lanka, including the infant mortality rate, the chapter provides a brief case study of the failure of the legal system to diagnose and respond appropriately to the sexual abuse of a runaway boy, placing him in a correctional institution where he was further abused by the older residents. A brief history of child abuse and awareness of it in Sri Lanka notes that currently child abuse in Sri Lanka exists in a variety of forms, including physical abuse, sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, neglect, and child labor. Recently, the conscription of children in armed conflicts has emerged as a new form of child abuse. This chapter reviews the data on the prevalence of child abuse in Sri Lanka and then discusses treatment and legal innovations. Recent studies show a sharp increase in reports and prosecutions of child abuse in the southern province of Sri Lanka, and there are signs that the new laws are taking effect and reaching perpetrators both at home and abroad. Despite these successes, the legal system has still not fully implemented the recent changes in the law. 1 table and 33 references